Saturday, March 17, 2012

Headlines - Saturday March 17

Fox News Is Very Upset About Flag Desecration – Sometimes

The Patriopathic zealots at Fox News are mightily disturbed by an American flag that was modified to place a picture of an American president where the field of stars is normally seen. They published a story about this outrage at the top of their web site this morning, complete with a snarky comment about China. The only problem with that is that their outrage, as usual, is selectively distributed. Fox News is firmly against flag desecration unless it is committed by the Tea Party or other conservative defilers.

Technically, it is considered desecration anytime a flag is altered. The Obama flag, therefore, is an inappropriate modification. But the same is true for the Tea Party flag. In fact, the same is true for flag fashion (such as the flag bikinis frequently featured on Fox) and signatures on the flag (which Bush and Palin have done at their rallies). So I wonder when Fox News will feature a headline article about these disgraceful America-haters:

This doesn't need much embellishment. A story on the Fox News web site about an archaeological discovery in China elicited what we now recognize as typical responses from the Fox News community.

The list of brazenly racist comments above was abridged to remove the many duplicates. Apparently the Fox News racists have very limited imaginations and most of them kept posting the same stupid "jokes" repeatedly. In the spirit of the hatred they espouse, I would just like to say that the IQ of the "stone-age" man in the picture is probably two or three times that of the average Fox viewer.

Racism has a home on American television, and that home is Fox News. You might think that they would be embarrassed by this, but it occurs with such frequency that it is clear that they are aiming for this audience.

USA Today tells us about the Voter Fraud of Indiana Senator Richard Lugar (R) who has not lived in Indiana since 1976 when he sold his house and moved to Virginia. They are not going to let him vote in his own re-election.

###

Arizona really has a problem with women.

To recap: Arizona senate committees have approved bills to allow doctors to withhold information from pregnant women if they suspect it will lead to an abortion, to allow employers to demand proof that your contraception is for non-reproductive purposes, and now a bill to cut state funding from family planning services entirely.

Earlier this week, an Arizona Senate panel approved HB 2800 on a party-line vote. The Arizona Senate Committee on Healthcare and Medical Liability Reform's move came on the heels of support from the Arizona House, which approved the legislation earlier this month.

If HB 2800 is indeed passed by the full Senate, Gov. Jan Brewer (R) is expected to sign the legislation into law, stripping state funding from any group such as Planned Parenthood that performs abortions.

If HB2800 is signed into law, Arizona will also lose Medicaid matching funds for family planning services in the same manner as Texas.

And maybe that's the idea. What other conclusion is there?

Living in a red state could be considered hazardous to your health if you're a woman. No joke.

###

Actor George Clooney and his father Nick Clooney were arrested outside the Sudanese embassy in Washington D.C. today. The Clooneys were protesting the Sudanese government for human rights violations against its people.

###

The Kabul-based Pajhwok Afghan News agency — Afghanistan's largest independent news service — is reporting on an Afghan parliamentary probe into the murder of 16 civilians by one or more U.S. soldiers over the weekend. According to the report (h/t Steve Hynd via Twitter:

A parliamentary probe team on Thursday said up to 20 American troops were involved in Sunday's killing of 16 civilians in southern Kandahar province.

"The villages are one and a half kilometre from the American military base. We are convinced that one soldier cannot kill so many people in two villages within one hour at the same time, and the 16 civilians, most of them children and women, have been killed by the two groups."

A stunning development, if true. The U.S. military is holding to the "lone gunman" theory, and has flown the soldier who has reportedly confessed out of the country. Some of the lawmakers wanted the perpetrator(s) tried in Afghanistan.

###

Still buying that blue jeans and work shirt bullshit Romney's been handing out? From TPM: Basement In Mitt Romney's New Mansion To Be Bigger Than Entire Mansion He Tore Down

Democrats swarmed when news broke last year that Mitt Romney had bought a $12 million mansion in La Jolla, California -- only to tear it down to build a house on the same land with four times the square footage. Romney bristled at the story, insisting that he was only doubling the size if you don't count the basement and garage.

Today's Wall Street Journal has a little more info on that basement in a trend piece on how ultra-wealthy home owners are building huge portions of their home below ground in order to appear less ostentatious from the outside. According to the plans for Romney's new home, the underground space will be 3,600 square foot. That's 600 square feet bigger than the entire mansion that the Romneys are replacing.

###

President Barack Obama characterized clean energy cynics in the GOP presidential field as would-be members of the Flat Earth Society. Birther and Romney-endorser Donald Trump cast himself with the Flat Earth candidates yesterday, with his latest tirade against clean energy.

Wind is destroying the environment in many, many places. People are going crazy over the horrible, noisy, disgusting windmills. And they are horrible and a horrible intrusion, ruining communities, and solar is weak and has not been effective and is very, very expensive.

Trump's position on wind energy being "disgusting" more likely has to do with his battle in Scotland to prevent wind turbines from obstructing the view on his planned golf resort. Trump is bankrolling the fight against the renewable energy and has already clashed with leaders there, who have called his tactics "bullying."